A WEEK OF EXCITEMENT & LEARNING
WHEN DR. VITOW FIRST INTRODUCED THE CONCEPT OF MINI-MESTER TO THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY OF MDYHS, THEY THOUGHT THE IDEA WAS INCREDIBLE, BUT IMPOSSIBLE. THE PLAN WAS FOR ONE WEEK IN DECEMBER, STUDENTS WOULD BE ALLOWED TO CHOOSE ONE CLASS OUT OF 31 CLASSES—BASED ON A TITLE, A BLURB, AND NO OTHER INFORMATION.
That’s not all, for a few hours the first two days the classes would meet and learn about their topic, and then on the third day, the entire school would leave on a trip related to their class. The logistics, the planning, and the details seemed near impossible. Everyone wondered how it would work. They should not have had any doubts, because like every other seemingly enormous idea that New Principal Dr. Vitow has suggested, Mini-Mesters went off even better than anyone could have imagined!
To get started, the talented faculty was tasked with coming up with a passion or an interest that they would like to share with the students. Ideas like fishing, French cooking, ice skating, video gaming, and stock market investing came to the surface.
Students chose classes based on their interests, without knowing who would be teaching them, what their friends chose, or where they would go on their trip. Curriculums were written, buses were booked, and reservations were made.
The first big reveal came just a few days before Mini-Mesters began. Class rosters hung in the atrium for students to see before it was finally time for orientation, where teachers of the courses were revealed. Students were shocked to see what some of their favorite teachers were interested in. Rabbi Jacob Matalon is the SY Fisherman? Mrs. Laila Zeitoune is a Harry Potter fan? We couldn’t wait to begin!
Getting together for an hour and a half on the days leading up to the trip, with students of all ages and teachers they may not have ever met, the excitement in the building was palpable and the questions came fast and furiously. “Which class are you in? Wait, who’s teaching that? Where are you going on your trip?” The hallways overheard little else. Finally Wednesday came and 31 buses pulled up to the high school with their GPS’ set to different locations. The girls in Shaatra at Home went to The Well to learn how to cook and donate mazza with Mrs. Jennifer Franco. Ms. Susan Cohen took her Emergency group to the Hatzalah building for a tour. Rabbi Joey Esses went to Beat the Bomb with his students in Can you Play the Game? Mr. David Sloan met Dr. Israel Jacobowitz, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, at NYU Langone, with his students in The Heart of the Matter, and much more.
Senior Stephanie Franco was in a course called Etiquette for Young Adults, where Mrs. Stephanie Shamah and Mrs. Kimberly Djouejati gave lessons on the proper way to set a table, and how to conduct yourself in certain situations. Boys and girls alike hung on every word, and put their new skills to the test by setting their Shabbat table. “I truly loved and soaked in every minute of this course,” Stephanie wrote in an email to Dr. Vitow, “I walked out of the class knowing how to speak properly, sit properly, and act properly. The teachers were amazing, and no one could have done the job better! I learned how to set up a beautiful table, and this is extremely helpful especially for a girl who will love to set her table for company in the future. Overall, my experience was a 10/10 and I’m extremely thankful and grateful.”
Junior Felix Hadef, was in a course called A Trip to Eternity, with Rabbi Isaac Escava, Rabbi Meyer Topas, and Rabbi Reuven Jacobsohn. “First we went to SCHI which stands for School For Children of Hidden Intelligence, a school for special needs children. I must be honest and say I was really nervous, because I just did not know what to expect. The second we walked into that building it just felt so amazing. Everywhere we walked everyone had a smile on their face. We saw the children and how they learned and how they dealt with their disabilities. This really amazed me, because they all have some tough and challenging lives and there’s not one second that they did not have a smile on their faces.” Hadef continued, “While we were exiting the building I was thinking to myself about how I had absolutely no reason to be a little nervous and I understood that these children were not different, rather they were just perfect. This day is a day to remember and a day that really helped me change the way I see certain things.”
As the week came to an end, the feelings of excitement and gratitude, from both teachers and students, didn’t die down. Everyone went into Shabbat feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride in our faculty and students, for pulling off this incredible BIG idea.
